Robert M. Brochin, Clay M. Carlton and Ann Kerr Stewart

Morgan Lewis & Bockius

Drawn into a Miami case 13 years ago, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Robert Brochin has been defending MERSCORP Holdings Inc. and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. ever since.

Now designated the company's national litigation counsel, Brochin has traveled across country and jurisdictions in defense of the electronic mortgage registry, which tracks changes in servicing rights, among other things.

The Morgan Lewis team wrapped up 10 years of litigation on behalf of MERS when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment on the sole remaining claim of robo-signing forgery in In re Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Litigation.

The MERS multidistrict litigation covered 93 cases, including 10 class actions, that were transferred from federal courts around the United States.

Associates Clay M. Carlton and Ann Kerr Stewart were on the team that organized and implemented key defense action steps throughout the MDL life cycle.

Plaintiffs challenged MERS's formation, operation and legal business model. The MDL court dismissed the 93 lawsuits in the master complaint, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Off the top of his head, Brochin rattled off seven federal circuits where he has argued or briefed cases, then checked to find it was nine. Cases have been addressed in 38 federal district courts.

Seven cases went to state supreme courts. He argued public reporting requirements before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in September and hopes for a decision by year-end.

Questions have been raised through the years about MERS's role in recording, liens, transfers and negotiable instruments, and the volume of cases ballooned during the foreclosure crisis.

“There was no precedent, so everybody felt they had something to say that was new and creative,” he said. “And we carried the day.”